The invention relates to a photocoupler for surface mounting.
Photocouplers unite in a single housing a phototransmitter element and a photoreceiver element. Their function is the electric separation of circuits which exchange signals, while a principal element of their characteristics is the insulation voltage, the value of which depends on the distance separating the transmitter and the receiver. Therefore, the housings utilize supports with high electric insulation values, which are expensive (ceramics, etc.). It thus becomes expensive to increase the dimensions in order to increase the insulation voltage.